5 Richest Artists in the World

Very few artists in the world are privileged enough to amass vast amounts of money in their lifetime. This is in stark contrast to quite a vast number of artists who are condemned to spend their entire lives below the poverty line and support themselves with odd jobs. Recently art enthusiasts from all over the world gathered in London on the occasion of the yearly Frieze Art Lovers event in order to catch a glimpse of the world's wealthiest artist.
According to several well-placed sources, the man to emerge at the top of the list is world renowned English artist Damien Hirst whose total net worth is estimated to be around $350 million. The famous British artist is internationally renowned for his provocative and unique artworks. Prominent examples of Hirst’s artworks are those that feature dead animals preserved in formaldehyde solution. His name has apparently gone down in the history for becoming the first living artist to sell a complete show at the 2008 Sotheby's art auction that was held in London. The show which was reportedly titled “Beautiful Inside my Head Forever”, managed to raise a record breaking $198 million. The impressive turnover generated at the auction helped to smash the previous record for the highest amount of money generated by selling off a single artist’s art works.

Another renowned name on the exclusive list is that of American artist and sculptor Jasper Johns with a staggering net worth of more than $ 200 million. In 2006 it was reported that his paintings were purchased by some private collectors for a record breaking price of $80 million.

The top three also includes an American painter named David Choe who reportedly has a massive fortune of more than $100 million. In 2007 David was commissioned to paint the murals on the walls of Facebook's corporate headquarters by none other than iconic entrepreneur Mark Zuckerberg.

Andre Vicari is another famous artist who lives in France and has a whopping fortune of more than $ 140 million. According to well-placed sources, he has amassed this astronomical sum of money by making portraits of the rich and famous.

Another well-known artist to hold a position on the coveted list is c who is apparently worth a staggering $ 500 million. Jeff Koons has earned his fortune by dint of his unique sculptures that have been created from Stainless Steel.